Wire insulating apparatus



Patented Dec. 22, 1953 .phristopher lKrogel, Grantord, N...'J,,.,assignor to "Western Electric 1Company, Jncorporated, New "York, NIX a corporation of ew"Y.ork

-.A11plicationAllrik5, 1949;1 S.erialr:No..a85;62.0

Claims. 1

7h1s invention relates snulp in u at g .z rhinery, and more; particularly :to .a .methodand apparatus, for applying :asheet of pulp to a-plu- .rality of wires .to .be insulated.

In theprocess of insulating a; plurality of wires with .paper pulp, one prevailing method is .to embed the wires in a sheet .of insulating .pulp and then .to cutthe. pulp;into,-insu1ating ribbons .in ,which .the wires are .centered, with the rib- .bonsbeit g:wrapped-aroundthe wire in a subsequent step. Different varieties of pulp andgauges .ofwire.requiredifierent widths of insulatingribbons forbestresults, .and, it is therefore necessary to be able ,to vary this width when needed.

It.is accordinglyanobject of .thisinvention to enable the width of the insulating ribbons providedby the above .method to be :varied quickly and accurately.

.Applicant accomplishes 'hispurpose in the previerred embodiment of the invention by using a ,Fourdrinier type pulp insulating machine "in which a plurality of .spaced ,parallel wiresare enclosed within a sheet of insulating .pulp carried .by the ,Fourdrinierlbelt. .A -plurality of ,spacednozzles intworowsfurnish slicingjetsof liquid to .severthe .pulp, sheet .into ribbons, with means being provided .to simultaneously -.-adjust the two rows .relative to each other transversely iOItheWbelt so as to {vary the width-of .theinsulating. strips'of ribbon.

.Otherobjects and advantages willbe-apparent .froma consideration.ofthefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with the/attached drawingin which:

,Fig. 1 .is .a {front gelev ational view ;of the .in-

M nti n;

Fig. 2is atopplan view of the invention, taken partly alongthe .line .22 .of .Fig. 1,;

Fig. 3 is acutawayplan View showing .thetwo nozzle .carryin membersbefore ,any-relative ad- .justment has been made.

vWith reference tothe drawing, .theapparatus shown. is part .of a conventional Fourdrinier .type paperinsulating machine. Asheetgof insulating pulp II is ,carried .by .a ,molling wire mesh ,belt 12 whichpasses over suitable rollers. A plurality of parallel wires 13 to be insulated approach the moving @sheet of pulp i2 whilertraveling :in the same general directionas thesheet and at the same rate of speed, and'are caused 'to enter the plane-oi the sheet, thereby'becoming embedded in it. Located generally transversely to the line of movement of the belt II are a pair of parallel headers I4 and --l5, each header being supplied with an equal number of spaced nozzles l6; which are correspondingly ;spaced-;to;;form a series of pairs of nozzles. The nozzles J6, whichare sup- ;plied with water at approximately fo tt pounds pressure by means of hoses l1 ;and 18,, .direct slicing jets "of water under pressure against the 'sheet-otdnsulating :pulp asthe pulp passes be- 2 .neath .the. headers, .thus cutting the sheet. .into ribbons.

.Theheaders I14 and --l 5 1 are slidably supported by. bracketsand.;2l ,-.which are.rigidlyfastened .to.-a bar ,.22. The bar -22.in turn is supported by means of bolts 23 whichslideinslots 240i L- .shapedabracket .25, thus allowing movement of. the

-bar.-22.transverse to .the path of the wire mesh belt :12. .The L-shaped-bracket 25is hinged .at -the ,joint 26 to :a rigidlysupported bracket 21. .Thishinged joint allows the entire mechanism tobepivotedabout the hingeZB, and raised up .outgofthe-way to facilitate the initial stringing of the wires.

JI he twoheaders 14 .and- 15 can be adjusted in position together across the belt l2 by means of the knurled nut 2-8. The nut 28 is rigidly con- ,nected to ashaftizil having a threaded portion .to .engage .a corresponding threaded portion in the .bracketll. ;By turning the knurled nut .28, thebar .22 and .the .two.headers l4 and I5 are caused-to move in unison-across the path of the wire belt.

The movementof the .two headers 14 and I5 relative to each other is afforded by the knob -32, whichacts throughgears 33 and 34 to impart .motion to the gear .35. Opposite sides of the gear .35 :engage rack 1-35, mounted on header I74, and .rack.31,.mounted on header 15. Any turn giventothe .knob 32 causes the gear 35 to move racks 3.6.and 31in opposite directions, and thereby .cause headers 14 and J5 to move relative to each other in a direction generally perpendicu- .lartothe path of theadvancing Wires.

..A.. scale-.40 is, provided-to give a visual indication ,of the relative position of the two headers at anytime. Means .is provided as indicated at Al .forproducing a .vacuum or suction condition immediatelybelowthat part of the wire mesh belt 12 which .is struck ;by. the water coming from nozzles (l6, fora ,purpose hereinafter explained.

.Thenumber of.nozzlesin each headerischosen with respect .to the number of wires to be in- .sulated -so that .there will be a wire to corre- SpDnd .to every other pair of nozzles. The nozzles are. also spaced sothatthedistance between ad- ,jacen't nozzles .on .thesame .header is the same .asthe .distance between adjacent wires.

.Insoperationr the vknurled .nut 28 is adjusted v.until a pairof nozzles, one on each header, is directlyabove .a wire being fed along on the sheet .of pulp. The knob 32 .is .then turned, simultaneously causing .the two headers M and is to move ODROSitly .to each -..other in a direction transverse ,to the path of the advancing wire, and

' -.is turned .,until .the scale 40 indicates that the nozzles ware-in a position vcorresponding tothe wjidth ;of.'rib bon desired. "Since thereis a wire for every other pair of nozzles instead of for every pair; "the cutting action of the jets of water will rormaltemate strips of ribbon, onehaving a wire embedded and centered in it, and the next being a waste strip, the latter corresponding to each pair of nozzles which do not have a wire passing by between their jets. This waste pulp passes into a chest (not shown) and is subsequently reclaimed and reused.

At this point, if it is found that the wires passing through are not exactly centered between two adjacent jets, that is, if the ribbon insulation is found to be wider on one side of the wires than on the other side, the knurled nut 28 may be turned sufiiciently to bring the wires into exact centering relation with their respective pairs of jets.

The wires on passing from the apparatus as herein described have formed on them ribbons of insulating pulp which are uniform with respect to the various wires, and which have the same width on each side of each wire. The wires are then in a position to proceed to the next stage of the insulating process.

By using two headers which are relatively movable with respect to each other, it is possible to vary with ease the width of the insulating ribbon on each wire to any desired width. If one header were to be used, it would not be feasible to vary the width of insulating ribbon, as the nozzles could not readily be adjusted in position relative to each other.

There is an ideal width of insulating ribbon corresponding to each wire gage, type of pulp used, and the degree of beating to which the pulp is subjected. Where it is desired to change the gage of wire running through the insulating machine, or where it is desired to change the degree of beating of the pulp, the invention as herein described provides an accurate and quick ad'- justment to provide the desired ribbon width.

If it becomes necessary to change the type of pulp being used during the course of the wire insulating process, it is essential that the width of the insulating ribbon be changed without delay or without interfering with the overall process since the pulp insulation of wires is essentially a continuous process. Applicants'invention is particularly effective in this case in providing an immediate adjustment in ribbon width to conform to the new type of pulp being used.

Since the relative movement of the two headers is accomplished by one motion, instead of by two independent motions, the operator can tell by looking at the scale on one of the headers exactly what ribbon width is being provided without having to move around the machine and look at the scale corresponding to the other header.

Means is provided for creating a vacuum or suction beneath the wire mesh belt in the vicinity where the jets from nozzles l6 impinge against the wire carrying insulating sheet of pulp. This is essential to the operation as a whole sinc it has been found from experience that after slicing through the insulating sheet, part of the water, instead of passing through the openings in the belt, tends to bounce back up from the wire meshing and strike the insulating ribbons. This has the effect of pitting and tearing the ribbon, and also turning it up at the edges, thus making the ribbon unsuitable for insulating use. In addition, the pulp which is torn from the insulation sheet and ribbons by the action of the water tends to collect around the nozzles and drops off in wads on the ribbon when a sufficient amount has accumulated. In view of these problems, applicant creates a vacuum or suction condition below the water impinging points so as to prevent 4 the splatter water and splatter pulp from interfering with the insulation process. 7

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In pulp insulating apparatus, the combination with a driven Fourdrinier type belt for carrying thereon a sheet of insulating pulp of a given width having a plurality of spaced parallel wires embedded in and moving with the sheet, of two hollow members each having a set of nozzles comparable in number and relative spacing to the number and relative spacing of the wires in the sheet of pulp and each member being adapted to receive a liquid under pressure for direction in jets through the nozzles to divide the sheet of pulp into ribbons, an element to supportthe hollow members for longitudinal movement relative to each other transversely of the belt, parallel racks mounted on the hollow members, and a rotatable pinion interconnecting the racks whereby the hollow members may be moved to cause their nozzles to direct their jets of liquid to known positions on their respective sides of their respective wires to divide the sheet of pulp into ribbons of variable widths for each wire.

2. In pulp insulating apparatus, the combination with a driven Fourdrinier type belt for carrying thereon a sheet of insulating pulp of a given width having a plurality of spaced parallel wires embedded in and moving with the sheet, of two hollow members each having a set of nozzles comparable in number and relative spacing to the number and relative spacing of the wires in the sheet of pulp and each member being adapted to receive a liquid under pressure for direction in jets through the nozzles to divide the sheet of pulp into ribbons, an element to support the hollow members for longitudinal movement relative to each other transversely of the belt, parallel racks mounted on the hollow members, and a rotatable pinion interconnecting the racks whereby the hollow members may be moved to cause their nozzles to direct their jets of liquid to known positions on their respective sides of their respective wires to divide the sheet of pulp into ribbons of variable widths for each wire, means to support the element for movement transversely of the belt, and means to move the element with the hollow members and their respective nozzles of each pair initially aligned with each other to align the pairs of nozzles with their respective wires whereby subsequent relative movement of the hollow members will position their nozzles like distances on opposite sides of their respective wires.

CHRISTOPHER J KROGEL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

